THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 20, 1995 TAG: 9504200510
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Virginia's fourth cotton gin was approved Wednesday night by the Suffolk City Council, raising the fears of nearby residents who believe the facility will severely impact their neighborhood.
Despite a list of restrictions placed on the gin, those residents left the meeting in defeat. Most fear that the gin, its noise and its waste will decrease the value of their homes, ruin their drinking water and send pound upon pound of lint dust into the air they breathe.
The council wasted no time in rezoning the land for the gin. There was no discussion.
After the public hearing ended, Thomas G. Underwood, the councilman who represents the area where the gin will be built, , said the advantages to the agricultural community outweighed the disadvantages to residents.
Underwood then called for a motion to approve the rezoning, which passed 6-1. Councilwoman Marian ``Bea'' Rogers was the lone opponent.
The council then placed four restrictions on the gin, including requirements that all trucks leaving the gin be vacuumed out, that the city's fire marshal have the authority to inspect and order that gin waste be removed, and that the city hold an annual review of the operation. That motion also passed 6-1.
The cotton gin will be located outside the community of Holland, a largely agricultural village about 11 miles west of downtown Suffolk. The facility, expected to open and running by October, will be the fourth cotton gin approved in the state and the third in Hampton Roads.
The $1.5 million to $2 million Suffolk facility is expected to create between 30 to 40 part-time jobs during the ginning season, which usually runs from Oct. 1 to Jan. 1. The city is expected to reap about $10,000 in taxes annually.
But there are drawbacks to King Cotton. Local residents, including Byron McCreary, say the gin will spew lint throughout the area - lint that will affect everyone living within a mile of the facility.
``It's hard when an issue comes up in a city that splits its residents,'' McCreary said. ``But the people opposing the gin are good people too.''
An audience of about 180, most of whom stood to support the gin, was mostly silent during the debate.
The gin will be located in a field adjacent to Route 58. The closest home will lie within 100 feet of the gin's property line, making the Suffolk gin the closest to residential homes in the state.
Joshua Pretlow Jr., who represented gin owner Morris Glover during Wednesday's hearing, said the facility's owners want to be a good neighbor to Holland.
``We've done what we believe is reasonable and prudent,'' Pretlow said, adding that the owners believe they have given the city ``a good state-of-the-art system.''
Cotton is a booming crop in Virginia. This year, cotton acreage is expected to double in Virginia to almost 90,000 acres. In 1994, Suffolk farmers planted 6,100 acres of cotton. This year, those farmers and others are expected to plant more than 12,000 acres of cotton.
KEYWORDS: SUFFOLK CITY COUNCIL COTTON GIN by CNB